This Bertrand Goldberg-designed building has been vacant
since September, 2011. Ownership has reverted from
Northwestern Memorial Hospital to Northwestern
University, which wants to demolish it and land-bank the
property until it can finance a new medical research
facility. This concrete, clover leaf-shaped structure,
which was built in 1975, is representative of Goldberg’s
organic architectural designs and is highly adaptable
for reuse due to an open floor-plate structural system.
After Prentice was included on last year’s endangered
list Landmarks Illinois commissioned studies of three
possible reuses for the building. The University,
however, has claimed none are feasible for its needs.

Prentice was considered groundbreaking for its
cutting-edge architecture, advanced engineering and its
progressive design approach to organizing medical
departments and services. It received international
press coverage and an award from Engineering News
Record for its innovative tower and open floor-plate
layout that eliminated the need for structural support
columns. “You will not find the structural solution to
Prentice, which is an exterior shell cantilevered off a
core, anywhere else in the world” notes Geoffrey
Goldberg, an architect and Bertrand Goldberg’s son.
“Prentice was the only one in which this was achieved.”

When Northwestern Memorial Hospital first announced its
plans to build a new Prentice Women’s Hospital
preservation organizations immediately began voicing
concern about the future of the Goldberg-designed
building. Prentice was on Landmarks Illinois’ 2005-06
Chicagoland Watch List and this is its fourth
listing on the statewide endangered list. Preservation
Chicago has also included it on its Chicago 7
list for a second time this year. The National Trust for
Historic Preservation placed it on its nationwide “11
Most Endangered Historic Places” list. In 2010 the
Illinois Historic Preservation Agency determined the
building is eligible for listing in the National
Register of Historic Places.

In partnership with Preservation Chicago, DoCoMoMo
(Documentation and Conservation of the Modern Movement),
and the National Trust for Historic Preservation, a
coalition has been formed to advocate for the
preservation of this irreplaceable Modern building.

What You Can Do

Write a letter to encourage local
landmark designation and to work with Northwestern
University to reuse the building.